Arabella's Adventures is my Google Innovator project from the #SYD19 Google Innovator academy. We needed to look at a problem we were facing, and think of a way of solving it. My problem was around junior students not receiving much teacher time with digital technologies and key skills to help them become confident and competent users. So I thought I would target this goal through a series of child directed picture books for students and teachers to use. 

Here is the first ebook of the series - How to take care of iPads. 

Get this ebook at the low cost of $3.00 for an introductory price!! This is for the first 100 customers so get in quick!! Find it here and get your copy!!

Last week I so incredibly fortunate to attend and present at the Digital Fluency Hui in Hawera, Taranaki. I delivered the keynote and four workshops around different areas. The aim being to build teacher competency and skill in anything digital; providing as much as I can with others!

I really wanted to share my presentations with you so here are the links to the workshops I ran. If you have any questions or want any further information please let me know. 

Once done, students simply copy the information in their google docs over to the google form template. This is easy to do as it notes which part of your story would go in which section by the 'option 1' or 'option 2' heading. Students simply follow through the options as they go through the story. To check out the planning has gone, simply click on preview and it will show you what the story will look like. 

This activity is a great way to get students to use digital technologies and ICT in the classroom in a meaningful way to create a great outcome. These templates will help you complete this learning activity and guide your students to complete a choose your own adventure story! 
To see an example story, click here to view my practice one!

Thanks to Mari Venturino and Mr Davola for the links to the ISTE resources and templates. 

Of course you can make the sign up google form as easy or as complicated as you would like. You would then generate the google form to populate into a sheets tracking grid so you can see who will be coming on which day. This is what you can print out for students to attend, or make it into a pretty graph! 

​Check out this example to see how it works >> http://bit.ly/workshopformsexample

I saw this online a few weeks ago and immediately had to do it for myself! Who doesn't love pretty stuff on their background notes right?
So straight into it, I created my font backgrounds, saved them as images and uploaded them to my Google Keep notes! Simple, easy and colourful - perfect for my obsessiveness over cute colourful things! 

Check out the short 3 minute video below on how you can make yours!

Wow. Where to begin! In this website post I will begin to share my journey from last week that highlights the incredible time I had in Sydney at the Google Innovators Academy. It was beyond amazing - words literally can not describe how fantastic it was!
​I will share all that I can - what I remember, what we did, how to get in...it all!

The application:
​So to even get in you first need to submit your application with ideas around what a need or problem you see in your learning context. Mine was all around 'How can we create a programme to help teach key ICT and google skills to junior students. Of course going into the application, this is such a broad problem to have and they really make you unpack it once you're there. 
The application also consists of recommendations from current google innovators and also a serious amount of questions you need to answer to consider if you are the right fit. Check out my innovator application video below.

Now before you even get there, you have work to do. Online meetings, discussions, goal setting and more! This sets the scene and helps you really unpack your problem and root cause. This was the best part, as it heightened your desire to want to be there and helped focus your mind on the task. 

What happened?:
Arriving on the first day was so surreal! All you could see was keen and excited educators ready to get started on this journey together. Everyone was introducing themselves to each other, trying to remember everyones name and getting to meet people you had been talking to online in person. We scored some free Google swag which was amazing also - I used my Google backpack on my first day back at school today. 

Once we started, we had group challenges, group work and individual activities to complete in our time there. It was all targeted around our goal, technology or our journey that we were about to undergo. We were fortunate to listen to some amazing speakers that shared their expertise, knowledge and great feedback with us all. 

Our projects:
We spent most of the time eating and drinking coffee. Which was definitely a highlight!! The unlimited food everywhere, and countless amazing places that Google actually had inside their buildings. 
Apart from the eating and drinking, we spent the other time working on our projects. This stemmed from our initial question or problem that we worked into our goal, project and end point that we wanted to create. 

​My initial question ended up changing to:
How might we remove teacher input totally and leave technology teaching up to students?

This allowed me to explore what could really come from this project and open up new opportunities for me in this problem. I want to create something that all junior students would find beneficial and felt that this 'how might we' question would not be too broad or too specific. This helps it not be easily answered either along my project journey.

My project has now been led down a new path - creating a series of technology themed picture books that target key ICT skills for students and teachers in a junior classroom. Definitely not what I thought I would create! Fingers crossed for the journey ahead!

Other thoughts:
Overall, 150% recommend applying if you are looking to meet some amazing educators from across the world that will make you think about and question everything you have done and will do in the future. I really can't summarise enough how though provoking it was; how much I have learnt about myself, my teaching, and my future; and what an amazing place Google is itself. The atmosphere they create while you are there is just such an incredible vibe - you really want to visit or go and work there. 

This amazing quote from Stuart Kelly really highlights what you should do and think about in the future. 

If you are interested in watching the livestream recording of our graduation, watch the Youtube video below! It will show you everyones project pitches including some quick snippet interviews with innovators at the event. 
I am specifically 25 minutes into the video if you are looking for my project pitch! 

If you are interested in applying then get onto it! You need to apply before the due date and to a cohort that is close to your area! I was fortunate that #SYD19 was was this year and close to my home - New Zealand. 

Check out this Google site with all the information about the other innovators accepted and our application videos also. 

Have a question about my time there, the application or anything Google? Send me an email below. 

Check out more information on this resource here on my website or on my Teachers Pay Teachers store. 

Google Docs is great for using in the classroom for both teachers and students. It has huge opportunities for collaboration, ease of use and making connections to others across the world. It is an online version of a similar app - Word, but with the data and app save online in the 'cloud'. 

At my school I am introducing and implementing work using Google apps in class. A part of this is unpacking google drive and the apps that go along with it. This is a pdf I created that unpacks a little bit more information on what it looks like, the tools and how you can use it. 

Check out this easy to read pdf attached below. It just provides you with quick snippets to show you an insight on how it works. Great for those who are unsure on how complicated it can be or how to use the tools. 

Google is amazing! They have so many apps that are perfect for use within education that really enhance learning opportunities within the classroom. Google apps for education can transform learning activities and help students create, collaborate and extend the walls within. 

Alongside this Google has a great 'Be Internet Awesome' programme to help students gain the skills to be safe when using the Internet. ​Be Internet Awesome teaches kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety so they can explore the online world with confidence. 

Be Internet Awesome is broken down into five sections:
1. Be Internet Smart - share with care
2. Be Internet Alert - don't fall for fake
3. Be Internet Strong - secure your secrets
4. Be Internet Kind - its cool to be kind
5. Be Internet Brave - when in doubt, talk it out

These five sections make up the programme to teach students about internet safety. The programme takes you on a tour through each of the different sections where you complete activities and games to learn the skills. Its named Interland.

At the end students can even get a certificate for completing their journey or digital badges! Teachers, there is a curriculum to guide you and your students along the journey with a pledge that can be sent home to continue the conversations at home too. 

Check out all the information about it here on Google.